Seafarers Happiness Index (SHI) Quarter 1 2022 results kickstarts the year, but seafarers are off to a rocky start. At an overall average score of 5.85/10, down from 6.41 in Q4 2021, it is the lowest level of satisfaction across 8 years of reporting. This is also the second time that happiness levels across all the questions have fallen. The mix of factors from COVID to the Russian-Ukraine conflict to poor connectivity have left the mood and morale on board at an all-time low, leaving the shipping industry with a ...

In some recent cases, hot slag/sparks have dropped into cargo holds and set fire to packaging or tarpaulins covering the cargo below. In addition to the direct fire damage, further damage to cargo has occurred due to water damage from subsequent firefighting operations. In another instance, where there was a mixed stow in one hold, bulk cargo in an adjacent hold decomposed due to heat transfer where temporary lashing points were being fitted to a transverse bulkhead for securing of general cargo. In some cases, no fire watch had been ...

1. A brief overview of the current situation The maritime industry is embarking on a major transition from conventional to zero or carbon neutral fuels driven by the pressure to decarbonise. The transition will not take place over night and will have a significant impact on costs, asset values, and earning capacity. The industry participants will need to understand the drivers and implications now to be able to plan accordingly and assess the associated risks. Whilst regulations will set direct requirements that shipowners must comply with, the public as well ...

State-controlled Russian National Reinsurance Company (RNRC) is now the main reinsurer of Russian ships, including Sovcomflot’s fleet, after Western insurance firms withdrew cover for Russian shipowners, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Insurance is essential for maritime transport, particularly oil cargoes that require the highest safety standards due to the risk of spills and shipping flammable material on the high seas. Before Western sanctions were imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”, insuring such cargoes relied on reinsurance from an ...

This circular informs Members of the approval by the International Group of P&I Clubs (the Group) of the IQAX eBL system. Members may recall, as reported in Circular of 12 June 2019, that, until February 2010, the Rules of all of the Group Clubs specifically excluded liabilities in respect of the carriage of cargo under all electronic, i.e. paperless trading, systems to the extent that the liabilities under such systems would not have arisen under a paper system i.e. one using transferable paper documentation. Since 20 February 2010 liabilities arising ...

FAQs on “Circular on General Trade Licence dated 17 March 2022 – Reporting of vessel calls to Russia and transiting Russian territorial waters” On 18 May 2022, we issued a Circular explaining that members must now report to the club all vessel calls to Russia and transits through Russian territorial waters, and the regulatory basis for this new requirement. This article sets out some of the Frequently Asked Questions we have received on the Circular. The information below sets out the club’s best understanding of the legal requirement imposed upon ...

The European Union’s (EU) announcement of its sixth package of sanctions, including a partial ban on Russian oil imports, was hugely significant. Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called it “a big blow to (Vladimir) Putin’s war chest.” One element of the package, a ban on providing insurance on tankers carrying Russian crude oil, looks likely to have a particularly large impact. After the embargo of Russian oil and tankers, the EU and the United Kingdom agreed to impose a ban on providing insurance to any ships carrying Russian oil imports ...

Sometimes fault is not always one-sided as a recent dispute involving a naval architect and a class society demonstrated. The claim was handled by ITIC (International Transport Intermediaries Club) and originated from a shipyard. The yard was commissioned to build a series of fast pilot vessels that had been designed by a naval architect. The designs were first submitted to Class who advised that the forward stringers be strengthened (stringers are longitudinal beams inside the hull to provide longitudinal strength). It is usual for advice from Class to be noted ...

Japan will consider measures for the EU’s imposition of its ban on insuring and financing seaborne transport of Russian oil to third countries because it will make it difficult to maintain its imports of Russian crude oil, a Japanese government source told S&P Global Commodity Insights on June 7. “We are scrutinizing the impact for the energy security, and if there is any impact, we will consider measures,” the source said, adding that the country’s pledged phase-out of Russian oil imports will be gradual while ensure its energy security. The ...

Russia expects to get around the EU ban on insuring and financing seaborne deliveries of Russian oil to third countries by using state guarantees, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian security council said June 6, in a post on his official Telegram channel. “This problem can be solved — insuring supplies can be secured by using state guarantees within the framework of interstate agreements with third countries,” Medvedev said. The EU said in a statement June 3 that its sixth sanctions package prohibits EU operators from insuring and financing ...

On a nation state level, governments can impose taxes on the sources of pollution at the point of production or sale, e.g. on petrol, with the aim that the taxes generated will cover the cost of dealing with the resulting pollution and incentivise reduced consumption. The difficulty in international shipping is that if just a few governments took this approach for bunker fuel, the buyers would likely adjust their arrangements so that they avoided bunkering at the taxed ports. For a sales tax on bunker fuel to be effective, governments ...

In the first four months of 2022, several ships faced serious operational issues caused by contaminated HSFO bunkers stemmed in Singapore. The question we need to ask ourselves is, are we better positioned to respond to such issues today than in the past? The news of contaminated bunkers in Singapore started spreading in mid-March and shortly thereafter many owners and charterers took preventive actions to ensure these bunkers did not get onboard their vessels or if already onboard, they were not consumed. The swift action taken by the Maritime and ...

As a marine insurer, the situation we might face would likely be the other way around which is a “cyber exclusion on a war coverage”. There are things to think about when we look into the marine cyber exclusion clauses that are used today. Many of these clauses are structured by the following logic: any loss directly or indirectly caused by or contrivuted to or arising from a cyber attack will be excluded, however in the case if the clause is endorsed on a war cover, this exclusion will not ...

The growing use and reliance on information technology, of data networks, transmissions and connectivity in the daily work within the marine and energy sectors increases exposure to cyber related risks. Ransomware attacks may result in economic loss or costs of rebuilding lost data. The consequential damages to hull, cargo and third-party liabilities from a cyber-attack on board a vessel or mobile offshore unit poses a different and more costly risk. The limited data on the frequency, severity of loss or probability of physical damage, is a challenge to underwriters. In ...

Lifeboats are designed to save lives, but over the years many serious casualties have occurred during drills, routine maintenance operations, and inspections of davit suspended boats. These accidents have also resulted in seafarers losing confidence in the lifeboat launching systems. In a recent safety alert, the US Coast Guard describes yet another lifeboat incident – one that could have had a catastrophic outcome if it had not been for the quick action of a crew member who activated a davit winch brake lever from the ship’s deck. In this particular ...